The Troubles in Ardboe recounts incidents during and the effects of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Ardboe Ardboe () is a large parish civil parish in east County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It borders the western shore of Lough Neagh and lies within the Mid Ulster District Council area. It is also the name of the local civil parish, which incorporate ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Incidents in Ardboe during the Troubles resulting fatalities:

1972

*16 October 1972 - Patrick Mullan (34) and Hugh Herron (38), both

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

members of the

Official Irish Republican Army The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged ...

, were shot and killed by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

while stationary in a car, outside St Patrick's Hall,

, three miles outside Coagh.

1977

*2 June 1977 - Hugh Martin (58), Samuel Davidson (24) and Norman Lynch (22), all

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

members of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

, were shot dead by

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

s while on mobile patrol near Ardboe.

1978

*26 February 1978 - Paul Duffy (23), a

Volunteer of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

(IRA), was shot by an undercover

(BA) SAS member at an arms dump in an unoccupied farmhouse, near Ardboe. Another IRA Volunteer was injured in the attack but survived. This was the first time the SAS had been used in action outside of

South Armagh South Armagh may refer to: *The southern part of County Armagh * South Armagh (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) *South Armagh (UK Parliament constituency) *Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional ...

.Mark Urban - Big Boys Rules: The SAS and the Secret Struggle against the IRA pp.3,11

1979

*22 June 1979 - John "Jack" Scott (49), a Protestant off-duty reserve police office was shot by the Irish Republican Army while delivering milk in Ardboe.

1984

*13 July 1984 - William Price (28), a Catholic member of the Irish Republican Army, was ambushed by the SAS during an attempted incendiary bomb attack on Forbes factory in Ardboe.

1988

*26 April 1988 - Edward "Ned" Gibson (22), a Protestant off-duty member of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

(UDR), was shot by the

while working as a bin man in Moortown, near Ardboe. *On 30 November 1989, Liam Ryan was shot dead in the Battery Bar by the UVF. Civilians Michael Devlin also died and Pat Campbell received life changing injuries as the result of the shootings

References

{{Reflist

External links

NI Conflict Archive on the Internet
Military history of County Tyrone